Yellow Pepper Soup with Wild Mushroom Croutons

This is my "veganised" version of the soup. This recipe is a delicious lesson in how roasting sweetens and deepens the flavor of bell peppers. The peppers can be roasted a day ahead and refrigerated until you are ready to prepare the soup.

Soup:

6 large yellow bell peppers
Cooking spray
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil object
1 cup chopped leek (about 1 medium size leek)
1 cup finely chopped peeled baking potato
1 cup chopped carrot
2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
1 bay leaf
1 cup water
2 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Croutons:
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cups chopped mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, shiitake, button, and oyster)
2 tblp dry white wine (I used red wine and it worked grrrreat)
1/2 tspn chopped fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tblp finely chopped parsley
1 tblp soy milk
2 tbsp vegan "butter" (Earth Balance)
1/8 tspn salt
1/8 tspn freshly ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) French bread baguette, cut into 12 slices


Soup:

Preheat oven to 500°.

Place peppers on a jelly-roll pan. Lightly coat peppers with cooking spray. Bake at 500° for 30 minutes or until blackened on all sides, turning occasionally. Place peppers in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 20 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Cut in half lengthwise; discard membranes and seeds.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek, potato, and carrot; cook 5 minutes. Stir in paprika and bay leaf. Add water and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Stir in roasted pepper halves; simmer 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
Place half of bell pepper mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid. Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining bell pepper mixture. Keep warm.


Croutons:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; reduce heat to medium. Stir in wine; cook 15 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Stir in thyme and garlic; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir in parsley, cream, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
Place bread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until toasted. Place 1 heaping tablespoon mushroom mixture on each crouton. Serve croutons with soup.

Rating: soup 4 1/2 yums, croutons 5 yums